Yarn guide



C. H. MOORE Dec. 29, 1959 YARN GUIDE Filed May 16, 1955 2 m El FIG?) FIG5C FIG 5B ATTORNEY United States Patent nice 2,919,080 Patented Dec. 29,1959 YARN GUIDE Charles H. Moore, Camden, S.C., assiguor to E. I. duPont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of DelawareApplication May 16, 1955, Serial No. 508,601

1 Claim. (Cl. 242-157) This invention relates to guides for textileyarns, including guides such as ring travelers, pigtails, pins,detectors and drop-wire guides, eyes, and like elements for slidablycontacting yarn.

Textile yarns, especially those made of synthetic polymer (such asnylon, linear polyesters, or acrylonitrile polymers) rapidly abrade orcut into guides made of con ventional materials. This damage to theguides is greater if the yarn is pigmented, whether for delustering orfor coloring; furthermore, the tensions of present-day highspeed windingoperations aggravate the problem. Frequent replacement of the guides iscostly and time-con suming; consequently, the textile industry requiresthe best possible yarn guides regardless of their initial cost.

A primary object of this invention is provision of yarn guidesexhibiting superior resistance to abrasion by yarn traveling in contacttherewith. Another object is construction of an improved traveler fortwister rings. Other objects will be apparent from the followingdescription of the invention and the accompanying diagrams.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of yarn guide according to thisinvention. Figure 2 is a transverse cross section of the guide of Figure1 taken on 22. Figure 3 is a side elevation of another form of guide.Figure 4 is a front elevation of the guide of Figure 3. Figures 5A, 5B,and 5C show still other yarn guides that may be constructed according tothis invention.

In general, the objects of this invention are accomplished byconstructing yarn guides from hardened titanium metal. Although it maybe desirable to make some part of a particular guide from othermaterial, at least the yarn-contacting surfaces of guides of thisinvention are composed of titanium.

Figure 1 shows generally C-shaped traveler 1 having almost rectilinearcorners and an arched back. Core 2 is a hard titanium wire ofsemicircular cross section exposed at upper inside corner 3 butotherwise covered with coating 4. The coating, which preferably isnylon, has a rectangular cross section, as shown more clearly in Figure2. The core is shaped by bending drawn titanium wire, and the coating ismolded thereon to give an excellent bond between the two materials.

The nylon coating just mentioned is not essential to the traveler but isuseful to eliminate necessity for lubrication of the traveler on thesupporting ring (not shown). Other polymeric coating materials may besubstituted for nylon with varying degrees of success. A traveler socoated has further advantages over an all-nylon traveler, for example,of being more flexible and more stain-resistant at the yarn-contactingsurface. This invention comprehends uncoated titanium travelers, ofcourse.

In one test, a simple G-shaped design of a titanium wire traveler wascompared with the similarly shaped type of steel travelersurface-hardened by heat treatment for this particular use, as iscustomary. The travelers, formed of hand-drawn titanium wire about 0.046inch in diameter and V2 inch in total length, had Brinel] hardnesses offrom 180 to 250 (at 3000 kg. load). The titani- 7 um guides showedconsiderably less wear in the winding and twisting of pigmentedacrylonitrile yarn, being cut to an average depth of 4 10 inches perpound of yarn passing therethrough, as against slightly over 23 l0"-"inches per pound of yarn for the steel travelers. This six- 5 foldreduction in wear was supplemented also by decreased yarn damageattributed at least in part to better surface characteristics andperhaps the lighter weight of the titanium.

Figures 3 and 4 show yarn guide 10 constructed in the usual form knownas a pigtail. This guide may be made wholly of titanium according tothis invention or may be surfaced therewith. Support 11 holds both theguide and adjusting screw 12 bearing thereon. The guide itself consistsof a unitary piece extending in a straight section from the clamp forsome distance, then assuming a helical configuration as if surrounding ascrew, and terminating in a shorter straight section upon completion ofslightly more than one turn. Figure 5 shows additional guides for whichhardened titanium is an excellent com- 20 position including a pin guide(A), which is merely a rod, supported at the ends, with reduced diameternear the middle thereof; a tension-disc guide (B), which comprises twodiscs adjustably mounted opposite one another and juxtaposedsufficiently to resist the passage of yarn therebetween; and an eye typeof guide (C), which has a layer of titanium on a common wire eyepermitting passage of the yarn.

The titanium used for the yarn guides of this invention need only behardened in customary manner, such as by drawing, rolling, or other handworking, but optionally may be nitrided in known manner for increasedhardness and abrasion resistance, if desired, either before or afterfabrication into guide form. Specifications for suitable wire are givenby the American Society for Testing Materials as B265-52T. Somepolishing of the yarncontacting surface is usual but is not essential tothis use.

This type of guide has the considerable advantage of simplicity ofmanufacture over guides made of gem materials (natural or synthetic),while presenting equal or greater wear-resistance, as well as greatlyreduced breakage and increased range of light traveler sizes. In generalperformance, it is much superior to other metal travelers, whether madeof steel or other alloys, as well as travelers made of ceramics andother conventional materials. This guide is especially preferable to theceramics for this use because of attendant, simplicity, and flexibilityin its design and manufacture. Because of the relatively little knowncharacteristics of titanium when the 5 present invention was made, fewor none of these advantages could be predicted.

The claimed invention: A flexible, stain resistant yarn guide composedof an inner core of titanium metal, an outer coating of nylon 5 coveringall but a portion of said core and being intimately bonded thereto, theportion of said core which is uncovered constituting a yarn contactingsurface.

References Cited in the file of this patent OTHER REFERENCES ASTMStandards, 1955, part 2, pages 634-637. 0 Article from The Iron Age,dated January 28, 1954, by J. L. Wyatt and J. J. Grant, pages 124-127,entitled Nitriding Improves Titanium Properties.

